Out of touch

《財政預算案》重頭戲是向市民每人發放5,000元電子消費券，被轟為何不直接派錢，政府與公眾脫節（out of touch），厚商界而薄基層。街市賣10蚊3份菜的小檔，何來八達通？

Out of touch用作形容人「與現實生活脫節、不了解某事、不懂他人感受」時，帶負面意思。想說明與甚麼out of touch，可以後接介詞with。

例句︰The Financial Secretary is accused of being out of touch with the financial difficulties of the grassroots.（財政司被指摘不明白基層市民的財政困難。）I haven't worked in the industry for years and feel very out of touch.（我沒有從事該行業多年了，已經非常脫節。）

Be out of touch with也可以用於形容「與……失去聯繫」，此用法則沒有負面意思。例如，I've been out of touch with him since he moved to Paris two years ago.（自從他兩年前移居巴黎，我們便沒有聯繫了。）I'm not sure if he still runs the restaurant. We've been out of touch for some time.（我不肯定他是否仍然經營餐廳，我們已經沒有聯繫一段時間了。）

（本欄逢周三、五刊登）