1 the Dark Ages the period in western Europe between the end of the Roman Empire (about 500 AD) and the end of the 10th century AD （西欧中世纪的）黑暗时代（从罗马帝国末，约公元500年，至公元10世纪末）

2 a period of history or a time when sth was not developed or modern 在某物不发达或不现代化的时期: Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机技术不发达的时期，即大约1980年，他们就创建了一家软件公司。