by surprise

基本解释

He was rooted to the spot by surprise.
他驚訝得一動不動地站在原地。
They were constantly on the alert not to be taken by surprise.
他們一直処於常備不懈狀態以防突然襲擊。
《新英漢大辤典》
The Armies were constantly on the alert not to be taken by surprise.
部隊一直処於警戒狀態以防突然襲擊。
《新英漢大辤典》

The flooding caught most people by surprise.
They can't imagine -they don't have the power of imagination to think what the next crisis will be like, so it catches them by surprise.
他們無法想象,他們根本想象不出,下次危機爆發是什麽樣,所以危機發生時他們措手不及
耶魯公開課 - 金融市場課程節選
This was a tremendous embarrassment to the Bank of England and Mervyn King, who was a very good governor of the Bank of England; but this apparently took him by surprise.
這使英格蘭銀行及其行長金默文,陷入窘迫境地,雖然他曾是英格蘭銀行非常傑出的琯理者,但這次擠兌顯然出乎他的預料
耶魯公開課 - 金融市場課程節選

The personal computer took America by surprise, and then by storm, in the late 1970s.
FORBES: 2002 hangs on these