2002考研英语text1翻译Everyone is very peaceful,polite and friendly

2002考研英语text1翻译
Everyone is very peaceful,polite and friendly until,waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line,grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself."Who is that?"the new arrival asked St.Peter."Oh,that's God,"came the reply……
这是第二段的几句话,讲的是一个故事.前半部分用一般现在时,好理解,因为讲故事时常用一般现在时,但是后面的对话为什么突然换成过去时了呢?
求解( ⊙ o ⊙ )啊!