The read command is a builtin command that reads from the standard input. By default, it reads until a newline is received. The input is stored in one or more variables given as arguments:
read var
If more than one variable is given, the first word (the input up to the first space or tab) is assigned to the first variable, the second word is assigned to the second variable, and so on, with any leftover words assigned to the last one:
$ read a b c d
January February March April May June July August
$ echo $a
January
$ echo $b
February
$ echo $c
March
$ echo $d
April May June July August
