the dark ages

IPA/ðə ˈdɑːk eɪdʒɪz/
IPA/ðə ˈdɑːrk eɪdʒɪz/

the dark ages — 名詞

1. the stretch of European history that began right after the Western Roman Empire

1.名詞B2
釋義

黑暗時代

西元5至11世紀歐洲文化衰落的時期

the stretch of European history that began right after the Western Roman Empire fell in the 5th century and lasted until about the 11th century, a time when learning, trade, and culture declined significantly.

例句

Ziad's history class spent a month studying the fall of Rome and the dark ages that followed.

Ziad 的歷史課花了一個月研究羅馬帝國的滅亡以及隨之而來的黑暗時代。

the + dark ages; usually capitalized as the Dark Ages

Very few written records survive from the dark ages, so historians mainly rely on archaeological finds.

黑暗時代留存下來的文字紀錄非常少，因此歷史學家主要依賴考古發現。

survive from the dark ages

常見搭配
  • the dark ages
  • during the dark ages
  • from the dark ages
  • the dark ages in [place]
  • since the dark ages
同義詞
  • early Middle Ages

    the more neutral scholarly term for roughly the same period (500–1000 AD)

  • post-Roman period

    a purely chronological label without the negative judgement that 'dark ages' carries

文法句型

the + dark ages

用法筆記

Commonly written with capital letters (the Dark Ages), though lowercase is accepted in informal contexts. Historians today often avoid the term because it suggests a value judgement about the period.

常見錯誤

The Dark Age was a time of little progress.
The Dark Ages were a time of little progress.
The name is always plural (Ages) and takes a plural verb.

2. any period in the past when a particular activity, technology, or area of life w

2.名詞B2
釋義

落後時期

某領域尚未發展成熟的階段

any period in the past when a particular activity, technology, or area of life was primitive, poorly understood, or undeveloped compared with modern standards.

例句

Sahil calls the 1980s the dark ages of computing because few homes had internet access.

Sahil 稱1980年代為電腦的黑暗時代，因為當時很少家庭有網路。

the dark ages of [field]

In the dark ages of medicine, doctors did not know that hand washing prevents infection.

在醫學的黑暗時代，醫生完全不知道洗手可以預防感染。

常見搭配
  • the dark ages of [field]
  • in the dark ages before [innovation]
  • back in the dark ages
  • since the dark ages
同義詞
  • primitive times

    similar meaning but less idiomatic and more neutral in tone

  • the stone age

    a stronger, more humorous expression for extremely primitive conditions

反義詞
  • modern era

    the opposite concept of an advanced, developed period

  • golden age

    a period of great achievement and progress, used as a positive contrast

文法句型

the + dark ages + of + [field]

用法筆記

A light-hearted or critical expression. Often used in the phrase 'the dark ages of [field/activity]' to contrast a primitive past with a more advanced present. Not appropriate in serious academic writing.

常見錯誤

The company's IT is in the dark age.
The company's IT is in the dark ages.
Even in the figurative sense, the expression stays plural.