ESL Podcast 344 - At the Convention Center

convention center - a large building that is used for very large group meetings, with rooms for speaking, eating, dancing, and more

The American Medical Association has its annual meeting at the downtown convention center.

presentation - speech; an opportunity to present information orally and visually to many people at once

Do you get nervous when you have to make a presentation to your co-workers?

to make matters worse - even worse; a phrase used to show that what one is about it say is worse than all the things that one has talked about before.

I had a horrible morning. I spilled coffee on my shirt, fell down the stairs, and couldn't get my car to start. Then, to make matters worse, I realized that I had locked my keys in my apartment!

to know (one's) way around - to be familiar with an area so that one knows where one is and how to get to where one wants to go

Sanjay has lived in New York City for more than four months, but he still doesn't feel like he knows his way around.

foyer - lobby; the large, open space near the entrance of a hotel, theater, airport, or other large building where people can meet each other

Let's meet in the hotel foyer at 7:00 and then we can decide which restaurant we should go to for dinner.

registration booth - a table at a conference or similar event where people can register (put their name on the participant list) and receive information and other materials

The man at the registration booth said that the first presentation would be at 9:30 a.m.

speakers' room - a large room where the people who will make presentations can prepare and relax before and after their presentation

I met the other presenters from our company in the speakers' room before our session and we went over the order of our presentations.

to point (one) in the right direction - to tell or show someone who is lost where to go, or in which direction he or she should go

That tourist looks lost. Let's go point him in the right direction.

hallway - a long, narrow room with many doors going into other rooms

The hallway in their home has five doors: one for the bathroom, three for bedrooms, and one for the office.

ballroom - a large room that can be used for big dances or for conference events

On New Year's Eve, we danced all night in the formal ballroom.

meeting room - a small- or medium-sized room where meetings are held

Which meeting room did you reserve for Friday's staff meeting?

escalator - moving stairs that one stands on and is moved up or down to another floor of a building

Because Felipe is in a wheelchair, he takes the elevator instead of the escalator.

landing - the open space at the top of a set of stairs where one can rest before moving into a room on that floor or going up or down another set of stairs

Bill's office is right next to the third-floor landing.

to get (one's) bearings - to orient oneself; to look around and understand where one is after having been lost

When the hikers got lost, one of them climbed to the top of a hill to look around and get his bearings.

to sweat bullets - to be extremely nervous, anxious, and worried

Zoila's family members were sweating bullets in the hospital waiting room, waiting to hear how her surgery had gone.

to tick - to make a quick, repetitive tapping noise, often when referring to the second-hand on a clock

The clock in the guest bedroom was ticking so loudly that it kept me awake most of the night.

nightmare - a bad dream; a scary dream

When Kristoff was a child, he had nightmares about monsters living under his bed.

subconscious - not conscious; the part of one's mind that one cannot control and may not even be aware of

Chirag is very competitive and even though he loves his brother very much, I think he has a subconscious desire to see him fail.