while it was being fought.

当时正在进行的索姆河战役
But they didn't film the fighting.

然而他们并没记录真实的战争场景
They filmed mock episodes

而是虚构了一些情节
where soldiers in training would go over the top

其中训练中的士兵竟然冲上敌方高地
in a totally fictional representation of war.

这完全是虚构的战争场面
The problem was that the people who saw this didn't know that it was phony.

问题是看电影的人们并不知道这是虚构的
When the film was shown in the middle of 1916,

电影于1916年中期上映
in August-September 1916--

大概是1916年八月或九月
the battle started on the 1^ of July--

而战争是七月一日打响的
it was shown all over Britain.

全英国都上映了这部影片
Twenty million people saw it.

二千万人观看了这部电影
That is half of the population of the country.

约占英国人口总数的一半