contender:a person who takes part in a competition or tries to win something 競爭者;角逐者;爭奪者
Peter is a contender for a gold medal in the Olympics. 彼得是奧林匹克運動會金牌的爭奪者.
a leading/serious/strong contender for the party leadership 該黨領導權最重要的╱強勁的╱有實力的角逐者
intense:serious and often involving a lot of action in a short period of time 嚴肅緊張的;激烈的
intense competition/activity/speculation 激烈的競爭;緊張的活動;猖獗的投機活動
step something up:to increase the amount, speed, etc. of something 增加,提高(數量、速度等)
He has stepped up his training to prepare for the race. 他為準備那場賽跑加強了訓練.