International Kangaroo Linguistics Contest Preparation for Student Level

Hello, everyone! I need to prepare for IKLC 2017.

I have read the syllabus for the contest and there are some terms that I do not understand.Please explain.I also need to know some good ways to prepare for this contest.

Please help!

The terms and words I do not understand are italicized.

Scope of questions:
Word and Structure Knowledge: concord, question forms, tenses, conditionals, modals, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, homonyms and homophones, words related to weather, countries, language and people, global problems, etc.

Reading: search for and retrieve information from various text types like encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc., understand information presented in instruction manual format, message format and others, acquire broad understanding of and look for specific information in longer texts like editorials, essays, etc., make inferences from advanced texts.
Spoken and Written Expression: ability to understand situation-based variations in functions like giving/accepting compliments, agreeing, disagreeing, requesting, seeking information, etc.

Please explain.