Given the Bash array animals defined as ("a dog" "a cat" "a fish"), what does echo ${animals[1]} print?

• A. a dog
• B. a cat
• C. a fish
• D. a cow

Answer: (B)

In Bash, array indices start at zero. The array defined has three elements: index 0 holds "a dog", index 1 holds "a cat", and index 2 holds "a fish". When you reference the element at index 1, you’re selecting the second item. Echoing that value prints "a cat". Note that the value contains a space, but echo prints it as that two-word string.