Hardtack①， hardtack， come again no more！Union soldiers sang this song during the Civil War， and they had reason to complain. Hardtack was a plain flour-and-water biscuit. These biscuits were hard—it sometimes took a strong blow of the fist to break them. Soaking only made them rubbery②.
Many times the hardtack was not fit to eat. It often became wet or moldy③ when it was stored. Sometimes it was full of maggots④ and weevils⑤. When a soldier got a moldy biscuit， he could ask for another. But if he got a wormy⑥ one， he had to eat it or go without.
There were a few good things about hardtack. When it was eaten in the dark， no one knew whether it had bugs in it or not. And there was always more for any soldier who was really hungry！
① hardtackn. (仅用面粉和水做成，未加盐的)硬饼干，硬面包
② rubberyadj. 橡胶似的；有弹性的
③ moldyadj. 发霉的；陈腐的；乏味的
④ maggotn. 蛆
⑤ weeviln. ［动］象鼻虫
⑥ wormyadj. 有虫的；虫多的；虫蛀的
硬饼干和士兵
“硬饼干，硬饼干，可别再用来填肚肠！”（美国）南北战争期间，联邦军士兵们唱着这首歌。他们的埋怨是有道理的。硬饼干是用面粉和水制成的一种普通饼干，非常坚硬，有时需用拳头猛击才能使其破碎，浸泡只能使其呈橡胶状。
有许多次，领回的硬饼干都不宜食用。储藏时，硬饼干常常会潮或发霉。有时，饼干里生满了蛆和象鼻虫。如果一名士兵领到一块发霉的饼干，他可以去要求换一块。但如果他分到的是块生虫的饼干，他好歹得吃下去，否则只好忍饥挨饿。
硬饼干也有一些好处。在黑暗中咀嚼硬饼干时，没有人知道里面是否有虫子，而且，确实饿坏了的士兵总能多分到一些。