intense:serious and often involving a lot of action in a short period of time 严肃紧张的;激烈的
intense competition/activity/speculation 激烈的竞争;紧张的活动;猖獗的投机活动
step something up:to increase the amount, speed, etc. of something 增加,提高(数量、速度等)
He has stepped up his training to prepare for the race. 他为准备那场赛跑加强了训练.
