Question

"How are you getting along in schoolnow, Peter?" asks his father.

Peter's father wants to know how his son is getting along in school.

Several weeks pass. Peter, who is a badstudent and studies very little, brings home the marks of his monthly examinations.

"How are you getting along in schoolnow, Peter?" asks his father. "Your marks do not seem to be verygood." 想请教你，这里的asks为什么不用过去时态，还有如果his father作asks的宾语，那不是成了被询问的人是父亲，觉得有点怪？

Answer 1

第一个问题 因为本文用的是一般现在时 所以asks不能用过去式
（小说故事用一般现在时代替一般过去时。新闻报道类的内容，为了体现其“新鲜”性，也用一般现在时来表示过去发生的事情。）
第二个问题asks his father是完全倒装句 。his father是主语，asks 是谓语，前面的引语是宾语。=his father asks. 这种经常见到的倒装是为了 紧凑。
如果把his father看做宾语，则句子缺主语。