When Charles was taken before the revolutionaries, there was a surprise.
我已经记住, surprise 是个不可数名词, 但在上面句子里却出现了 a surprise, 这使我感到很惊讶。
当笼统地表示“惊奇”“惊讶”时,surprise 是个不可数名词:
-
To my surprise, he won the prize. 使我惊奇的是，他竟得了奖。
-
He stared at her in surprise. 他吃惊地盯着她。
-
Their defeat caused little surprise. 他们的失败不足为奇。但是，当具体地指某件令人惊奇的事时，surprise 就变成可数名词了（参见 success, uncountable nouns, abstract nouns ）：
-
The gift came as a complete surprise (to me). 这件礼物完全出乎(我的)意料。
-
“Why don’t you tell me?” —— “Because I want it to be a surprise.” “你为什么不告诉我呢?” —— “因为我想给你一个惊喜。”
-
Your letter was a pleasant surprise. 你的信真是一件令人惊喜的事儿。
-
The hurricane last night had been a great surprise, but fortunately the house had not been damaged and no trees had fallen near it. 昨晚的飓风来得太突然，但幸运的是房屋没有遭到破坏，附近的树也没有被刮倒。
Oh, John. ____ you gave us!
The house itself had ____ surprises for Mr Bolton. It was exactly as he had imagined it.