NEW YORK, Apr 14 (Reuters) - Big power envoys met on Wednesday to pursue the quest for fresh U.N. sanctions to try to halt Iran's nuclear program, but diplomats forecast weeks of haggling over a text the Security Council can pass.

1：big power指“大国”,联想到“大国强权政治”：big-power politics；相对应的，“小国”：a small country或者ministate、microstate（都能表示超小国家）。“小国霸权主义者”：junior hegemonist。

2：pursue可以翻译为“追赶（可以与after连用），进行，贯彻，从事于……”，它翻译为“追求”也较为常见。有部非常有名的电影，《当幸福来敲门》的英文名，是“pursue happiness”。

3：quest for理解为探寻、设法找到

4：haggle over sth 对某事争论不休。看个例句：They spent hours haggling over the price.他们在价格问题上争论了好几个小时。

联想到：haggle over every ounce 斤斤计较；再看这个例句：Introvert, haggle over every ounce, coward of recreant be afraid of getting into trouble, disposition, become nightmare easily.性格内向、斤斤计较、胆小怕事、性格懦弱的人，易做恶梦。

Ambassadors from the five permanent members of the council and Germany gathered at the U.S. mission to the United Nations for their second meeting in a week since China, which has close economic ties with Iran, agreed to join the talks.

1：the five permanent members of the council= the five permanent members of the Security Council安理会五大常任理事国（美俄中英法）

2：economic ties经济纽带、经济联系。 例句：In a joint statement they pledged to "realise the normalisation of cross-strait economic ties".在联合声明中他们宣称致力于实现两岸经济合作的友好关系。

China's Li Baodong told reporters, "We have a very important consultation with a focus on diplomacy."

Russia's Vitaly Churkin said, "I expect a good discussion," adding that he expected the talks to go on "for a while."

The envoys were discussing a U.S. draft resolution, first circulated weeks ago, that provides for a fourth round of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment. The West accuses Tehran of seeking to produce atomic arms but Tehran says it aims only to generate electricity.

1：draft resolution提议，决议草案。draft意思为起草，草图。这个词意义诸多，可以仔细看看。

2：uranium enrichment铀浓缩

3：generate electricity发电，相应发电厂：power plant，power house， power station。

这里还需要知道，伊朗在辩称时说自己进行铀浓缩，是为了“民用”：civilian use，对应的“军用”：military use

The draft proposes new curbs on Iranian banking, a full arms embargo, tougher measures against Iranian shipping, moves against members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a ban on new investments in Iran's energy sector.

1：curbs:控制，限制

2：arms embargo：武器禁运，军火禁运

3：a ban on 禁止：

同样看一个例句：In April, Canada became the first country to propose a ban on plastic baby bottles that contain BPA.四月，加拿大成为第一个颁布法律禁止使用含有BPA的塑料奶瓶的国家。

But diplomats told Reuters that China's Li had indicated displeasure at（这个用法，可以学学） the proposals affecting Iran's energy sector at a first meeting last Thursday with his U.S., British, French, German and Russian counterparts.

Other diplomats said that meeting had been largely confined to statements of opening positions by the ambassadors and that the hard work of agreeing to a text remained to be done.

U.S. President Barack Obama pressed 46 countries attending a nuclear security summit in Washington on Tuesday for swift sanctions on Iran but acknowledged China had concerns about（常用词） the economic impact and said negotiations were difficult.

Iran is the third largest crude oil supplier to energy-hungry China.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting Peru, hinted Washington might not insist on the toughest possible sanctions, saying the importance of a resolution was "less the specific content than the isolation of Iran by the rest of the world."