众所周知，词汇是
on the surface 表面上看
释义
When you refer to the surface of a situation, you are talking about what can be seen easily rather than what is hidden or not immediately obvious.
例句
This method seemed impractical on the surface, but the final results in all three tests proved its feasibility.
GRE
The prospects of discovering new aspects of the life of a painter as thoroughly studied as Vermeer are not, on the surface, encouraging.
从表面上看，要从像Vermeer这样早已被彻底研究过的画家的生活中挖掘新领域的可能性不是很大。