单项选择题

The first ball to drop - an illuminated 400 - pound iron - and - wood globe—was lowered from a flagpole. Tradition took root and the ball has announced a new beginning almost every year since—in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of commission by a war - time" dimout. "Instead crowds gathered in the square and observed a moment of silence before cheering. Although the newspaper moved to a different location in 1914,the ball remained a Times Square tradition, with several redecorations along the way. @In 1955 it slimmed down to a 200 - pound aluminum(铝) globe, and remained that way until the 1980s when red lights and a green stem were added to make it an apple promoting the city ’s "I Love New York" tourism campaign. That flashy phase ended in 1988 in favor of simple white lights, followed later by rhinestones (莱茵石) with edges and strobes (频闪闪光灯). But the biggest checkup was saved for the ball that would ring in the new millennium. Weighing up to 1,070 pounds, the massive new ball marketed handcrafted Waterford crystal triangles, each with a design symbolizing various messages such as" Hope for Fellowship," "Hope for Wisdom" and" Hope for Abundance. "With minor changes, that. sphere remained through the 2007 festival
This year’s ball tops out at 12 feet in diameter (double the size of previous balls) and weighs11, 875 pounds; it sparkles with 32,256 LED lights and 2,668 crystals. It’s not the only thing that’s gotten bigger since the 1900s;a crowd estimated at a million people will be celebrating in Times Square on Dec. 31st, and millions more will be watching worldwide.
What makes this year’s ball special compared with the other ones