不料

tā qù hǎi bīn yóu yǒng bù liào bèi yān sǐ le

他去海滨游泳，不料被淹死了。

He went to the seaside for a swim. Who would have thought he would be drowned?

bù liào tā yòu huí lai le

不料他又回来了。

Unexpectedly, he came back again.

jīn tiān běn xiǎng chū mén bù liào jìng xià qǐ yǔ lái

今天本想出门，不料竟下起雨来。

I had planned to go out today, but who would have thought it was raining!

tā kāi shàng chē dào bù liào fā xiàn lù yǐ bèi dǔ

她开上车道，不料发现路已被堵。

She turned up the driveway, only to find her way blocked.

tā men shàng qì bù jiē xià qì de gǎn dào gōng sī bù liào què bèi gào zhī tā men bèi kāi chú le

他们上气不接下气地赶到公司，不料却被告知他们被开除了。

They reached the company out of breath, only to be told they were fired.

tā gēn tā tí qǐ zhè xiǎng fǎ bù liào tā shuǎng kuai dì dā ying le xià lái

他跟她提起这想法，不料她爽快地答应了下来。

When he suggested it to her, she had agreed with unexpected readiness.