Final answer:
In Java, array indexing starts at 0, so str[2] refers to the third element of the String array, which is "ghi". Therefore, the answer is 'c', a reference to the String object containing "ghi".
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question relates to accessing elements from an array of String objects in Java. In the provided code String str = {"abc", "def", "ghi", "jkl"};, str is an array of strings, and the index in Java starts at 0. Therefore, str[2] would reference the third element in the array, as indices are 0-based. The correct value of str[2] is a reference to the String object containing "ghi". So the answer is 'c'. A reference to the String object containing "ghi".