Competition between ourselves, person against person, community against community, still persists, however; and it is as fierce as it ever was.

persist ^{v. 1. if something bad persists, it continues to exist or happen（坏事）持续}

• If the pain persists, consult a doctor.
• The belief that the earth was flat persisted for many centuries.
• The habit of procrastination still persists, however, despite her best efforts to change.^{尽管她尽了最大努力去改变，然而拖延的习惯仍然持续存在。}

persist ^{v. 2. continue doing sth. in a determined but often unreasonable way 执意做某事}

• If he persists in asking awkward questions, then send him to the boss.
• She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death.

fierce ^{adj. involving a lot of force or energy（竞争等）激烈的}

• We face fierce competition from overseas competitors.
• There was a fierce opposition of the proposal.