Peking Opera (京剧) used to sound strange to Dou Yi. The 14-year-old Beijinger said whenever she found Peking Opera on TV, she watched another programme. Like most of today’s ___1___ , Dou loves pop music.

But since she ___2___ the Xuanwu Branch School of Beijing No. 15 Middle School, she has been studying Peking Opera in music class every week.

Dou and her classmates listen to Peking Opera and ___3___ the basics from experienced actors. They also sing along with the operas.

“At first, we felt it really ___4___ to learn some musical notes, and we often laughed, ___5___ later I found it was not difficult to learn Peking Opera and I understood a little about it.” said Dou.

Since 2008, ___6___ around our country have been teaching students Peking Opera. It’s part of a plan to introduce young people to our country’s traditional culture. ___7___ , Dou’s school has been taking the job seriously.

“I learn a lot of history from the operas,” she said. “I’ve also ___8___ many ancient poems, since there are so many of them in the operas.”

“When you learn more about it, you’ll ___9___ it more. If people do study it, ___10___ art form won’t disappear. It would be a great pity if it did!” she said.