Você pode usar ler ou selecionar:
read -p prompt answer; echo "$answer"
read -p 'Continue (y/n)? ' -n1 answer; echo; [[ $answer = [yY] ]] || return
PS3='What is the capital of Sweden (1-3)? '; select answer in Gothenburg Stockholm Uppsala; do [[ $answer = Stockholm ]] && { echo Correct; break; } || echo Try again; done