7 There are 6 seats arranged in a row, and three people are to be seated. The number of different seating arrangements where exactly two empty seats are adjacent is ( ).
(A) 48 ways
(B) 60 ways
(C) 72 ways
(D) 96 ways
7 Method one: Number the seats in order as $1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6$. If the adjacent empty seats are $1, 2$ or $5, 6$, there are $\mathrm{C}_{3}^{1} \cdot \mathrm{A}_{3}^{3}$ arrangements each. If the adjacent empty seats are $2, 3$, $3, 4$, or $4, 5$, there are $\mathrm{C}_{2}^{1} \cdot \mathrm{A}_{3}^{3}$ arrangements each. Therefore, the number of different arrangements where exactly two empty seats are adjacent is $2 \mathrm{C}_{3}^{1} \cdot \mathrm{A}_{3}^{3} + 3 \mathrm{C}_{2}^{1} \cdot \mathrm{A}_{3}^{3} = 72$ (arrangements). Hence, the answer is $\mathrm{C}$.
Method two: First, treat the two empty seats as one person (the other empty seat is temporarily not considered). This way, the four people can be seated in $\mathrm{A}_{4}^{4} = 24$ (arrangements). For each such arrangement, place the other empty seat in a position not adjacent to the two empty seats, which gives $5 - 2 = 3$ (arrangements). Therefore, there are $3 \mathrm{~A}_{4}^{4} = 72$ (arrangements) of different seating arrangements. Hence, the answer is C.