Him, I have a Honda Civic 1998, and recently had the timing belt replaced, among other regular service things. 70,000 miles. Yesterday I noticed when I step on the gas there is no pep, like it chokes a bit or just doesn't want to speed up. Someone told me I need oil. I'm down a quart. Does this sound right?

No. You really need to stay on top of the oil level because if it gets too low, you will ruin the engine. Stop at once if the oil light ever comes on. A flicker at idle may not be a problem.

As for the lack of pep, it sounds to me like something didn't get put back together right after the belt change. I would go back to whoever did it, and explain the problem. An ethical shop will find and fix anything they didn't get right for free. In some cases, a weak component that may have worked well for a long time, fails if removed and replaced. The shop should not be expected to take care of things like that for free.