14 According to Twain, what does the term “Gilded Age” describe?
(A) A very wealthy age
(B) A seemingly shining but corrupted age
(C) A gold rush age
(D) A glorious and prosperous age

Mark Twain called the times in which he lived, and particularly the late 1800s, the Gilded Age.

Twain wanted to point out that despite儘管 its outward對外 showiness, American society was inwardly向內 corrupt腐敗.

But wealthy industrialists at that time certainly did not see themselves in this way, and a philosophical哲學 movement called social Darwinism社會達爾文主義 helped them believe that the accumulation積累 of riches by a few was the “natural order自然秩序.”

Social Darwinism, the theory developed by Herbert Spencer, was in part an application of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary進化 theories to human societies.

Spencer斯賓賽 argued that some members of society, those who were “naturally” superior優越, were meant to climb to the top and should not be impeded阻礙.

In addition除此之外, Spencer warned警告 that those who were at the bottom, by their very natures, were unfit to survive, and therefore charity was meaningless無意義.

Not surprisingly, many industrialists used his ideas to oppose反對 social reforms and government intervention介入.

Like his contemporaries同時期的, Andrew Carnegie was a firm supporter of social Darwinism.

However, he did not agree with all of Spencer’s ideas, as he felt poverty貧困 could build character.

Indeed的確、實在、確實, he must have felt it had done so for him.

And, though abhorring憎恶( abhor的现在分词) what he called idle閒置 charities, he believed in helping those who would help themselves.

Unlike many of his contemporaries當代, Carnegie卡內基did, in the end, share his wealth by granting補助金、給予 millions of dollars to libraries and centers for peace and education worldwide.