Torrents-VPNs and proxies

Hello. I am Flamean. I had some questions.

1)Ok...what are VPNs? Will they help me on the issue of ISP throttling/limiting speed?How? And....will I get a direct speed from them?( Like if I check the speed on the internet and its 4mbps,will I get that exact 4 mbps on torrent downloads?).

2) What are Proxies? How to use them? Will they help me in this? How?

3) Few days ago I did a speed test on the internet and my speed was 9.1 mbps. Is it possible to reach this speed (With/ without VPNs or proxies)?
Thank you,
Flamean