spinach
spinach — 名詞
1. a leafy green plant whose broad, dark-coloured leaves people eat raw in salads o
菠菜
一種綠葉蔬菜，葉片大而深綠
a leafy green plant whose broad, dark-coloured leaves people eat raw in salads or cooked in dishes such as soups, stir-fries, and pasta
Tariq refused to eat his spinach even after his mother explained how healthy it was.
Tariq 拒絕吃他的菠菜，即使媽媽解釋了菠菜有多健康。
collocation: refuse to eat + spinach
Christopher added fresh spinach to his morning smoothie for extra vitamins.
Christopher 在早晨的果昔裡加了新鮮菠菜，以攝取更多維生素。
collocation: add + spinach to [dish]
The spinach leaves in the garden grew quickly after the spring rain.
花園裡的菠菜葉在春天的雨水後長得很快。
Alessia washed the spinach carefully before putting it into the salad bowl.
Alessia 仔細地清洗菠菜，然後才放進沙拉碗裡。
During practice, Coach Valentina explained that Popeye ate spinach for iron, so the young runners should eat it too.
在練習時，Valentina 教練解釋說 Popeye 吃菠菜是為了鐵質，所以年輕的跑者也應該吃菠菜。
用法筆記
Frequently uncountable — use 'some spinach' or 'a bag of spinach', not 'a spinach' or 'spinaches'.
常見錯誤
spinach — 形容詞
1. describing a task or activity that is dull or unpleasant to do but which brings
乏味但有益
形容事情無趣但對健康或成長有好處
describing a task or activity that is dull or unpleasant to do but which brings some long-term benefit — for example, doing repetitive homework, attending extra training sessions, or following a strict diet
Pim described the extra training sessions as a bit spinach but necessary for the competition.
Pim 形容額外的訓練課程有點乏味但有益，不過為了比賽是必要的。
predicate adjective: describe as + a bit spinach
Theo found the long grammar exercises quite spinach, yet he knew they would improve his writing.
Theo 覺得那些冗長的文法練習相當乏味但有益，因為他知道那會讓他的寫作進步。
predicate adjective: find + quite spinach
Hoa's new job came with a lot of spinach tasks — boring paperwork that taught her the business.
Hoa 的新工作有很多像菠菜一樣的任務——無聊的文書作業，卻讓她學會了業務。
Sade treated every difficult task like spinach in a meal, unpleasant but full of good things.
Sade 把每個困難的任務都當成像餐中的菠菜：不美味但充滿好東西。
文法句型
be + a bit / quite / very + spinach
用法筆記
Predicative use is far more common than attributive. You are more likely to hear 'this work is a bit spinach' than 'this is spinach work'. This sense is chiefly British English and informal.