reach: may be used with reference to anything arrived at by any degree of effort: after a long climb we ~ed the top of the hill.     (effort努力implies the calling up or directing of energy by the conscious will有意识地使用能量，如made the supreme effort and crossed the finish line first使出全身力气率先越过终点线)


gain: is likely to imply a struggle to reach a contemplated or desired goal or end: ~ed a measure of self-confidence from the experience.  （struggle 1、打斗斗争when two people struggle with each other, they fight，如she screamed at him to 'stop it' as they struggled on the ground他们在地上扭打成一团，她尖叫着“别打了”，2、奋斗拼搏to strive，如a country struggling for independence为独立而奋斗的国家，或表示3、困难的having difficulty，如life as a struggling artist生活困难的艺术家。这里表示义项2: 奋斗拼搏）  contemplate沉思专心思考        


compass: implies the exerting of efforts to get around difficulties and transcend limitation, and often connotes skill or craft in management: an actress taking on the most difficult role that her skill could ~.    exert努力的动词，和effort同义，to exert effort是固定搭配          (craft机智或诡计计谋clever and subtle method不一定贬义，这里译作机灵)


achieve: can stress the skill or endurance as well as the effort involved in reaching an end : ~d the success that was her due.    achieve强调的是endurance即长时间克服忍受困难，其次是effort努力，几乎不强调skill技巧，因此没有译出，又如a nation struggling to achieve greatness一个努力取得成就的国家，是强调克服艰难困苦


attain: stresses the spur of aspiration or ambition and suggests a reaching for the extreme, the unusual, or the difficult: vowed not to relax his efforts until peace was ~ed.   spur激发，名词是马刺，表示激活能力或增加能量热情    ambition和aspiration都表示志向高远，ambition多表中性甚至贬意，aspiration专指高尚崇高的志向


reach到达: 泛指到达，无论地点远近难易，gain赢得: 指通过巨大努力（奋斗拼搏）达到目标，compass达到: 表示克服局限困难，暗指技巧机灵，achieve成就: 强调长期努力克服困难以达到目标，attain成就:  强调目标十分困难非同寻常，需要远大志向抱负


记忆方法: 1）首字母RGCAA想成A CRAG一个悬崖<==达到       "达"本义是"畅通无阻"，从辵羍声。羍本义为小羊，说文中说: 从羊大声。表意不明。从"畅通无阻"的本义，引申为"到达"，如四通八达发达达标亩产达千金达官贵人   "到"的本义是"到达"，本字是"至"，表示"回到家中，倒在床上休息"，后来增加单人，后被误写为刀字旁。说文:"到，至也"，从至刀声。本义是"到达"，引申为"周到周密"，近代又引申出"去、往"的意思。 如到达到来周到到群众中去到兵马俑报到    可见，"到达"中的到和达意思完全相同 （crag的意思是悬崖峭壁refers to a high and rocky cliff，如the fugitive live on the mountain crag for several years逃犯在峭壁上住了几年，如a castle set on a crag above the village位于村子上方悬崖上的城堡）  

     2）达到的意思是到达地点目标mean to arrive at a point or end by effort or work.